The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 16, 1998 - 13

Boring games mark slate

By Philp MagMrau
Forhieaily
After perusing the Big Ten schedule for this week, one thing
and one thing only is obvious. The only coaches with serious
cojones in this conference both lie within the borders of the state
Michigan. This proves to be another uneventful weekend
hin the realm of the Big Tei, as the only important game on
the schedule features Ohio State and Missouri (which, by the
way, was scheduled by John Cooper when Missouri was a
laughable program).
Even the typically strong-scheduled Wolverines take a much
needed week off with Eastern Michigan visiting the Big(ger)
House. Although there are no marquee games this week, there
is a theme here, which
Around the is Rematch Week.
Six of the 10 Big Ten
games feature
rematches from last
year, which always
seems to make things
C 0 N F E R E N C E interesting. Without
further ado, here is the
roundup for the final non-conference week before the Run for
the Roses (or Fiestas) begins:
No. 21 Missouiu (2-0) AT No. 1 Omo STATE (2-0)
You know that something fishy is going on at the Ohio State
athletic department when the Buckeyes face not one, but two
sked opponents before the Big Ten season begins (West
Virginia being the other one). Could they possibly realize that
there is some merit in being tested early in the season, so that
you do not choke come big game time in November and

January? Only time will tell if it this strategy works.
One thing is for sure, however, and that is that this should be
an exciting game Ohio State boasts one of the nation's most
explosive offenses and one of the toughest defenses to move the
ball against. A lesser Ohio State team beat a better Missouri
team on the road last year, 31-10, so all signs point to a blowout.
The X-factor could be Missouri quarterback Corby Jones,
who came into his own last year as one of the most exciting
players in the nation. Now he gets his second shot at a No. 1-
ranked team in the past year, this one following last year's fan-
tastic finish versus Nebraska. If he can play the game of his life,
then Andy Katzenmoyer and kompany (he hasn't passed
English yet either) could be in for a tough game.
Omo STATE 48, MIssoui 27
CENTRAL FLORIDA (2-0)AT PURDUE (1-1)
Speaking of exciting quarterbacks, Purdue is going to run
headlong into the most exciting of the bunch, Central Florida's
Daunte Culpepper, a preseason Heisman candidate. This guy is
flat-out amazing, and is the most exciting player in college
since, well, a certain dearly departed No. 2 for the maize and
blue. Culpepper passed for 406 yards and four touchdowns last
week against Eastern Illinois, and also ran for 73 yards and three
scores. By the way, the rest of Central Florida belongs in
Division I-AA, where they resided until last year.
On the other side of the field are the Boilermakers, who lead
the Big Ten in five-receiver sets, empty backfields and not much
else. These guys throw the ball more in one game than most
teams do in a week of practice, so this should be a fun one to
watch. Joe Tiller did an excellent job turning this team around
last year, but Purdue graduated most of its offense, including
quarterback Billy Dicken and top receiver Brian Alford.
PuUE 35, CENTRAL FLORIDA 31

AP PHOTQ
Purdue running back J. Crabtree and. the rest of the Boilermakers narrowly escaped Rice last week, but may have a more ;
daunting task in trying to stop Central Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Daunte Culpepper.

know. UNLV was spanked by Northwestern, Northwestern was
spanked by Duke. Duke is not a good team. Wisconsin is a very
good team.
Even with large-and-in-charge running back Ron Dayne
questionable for this game, the Badgers should have no trouble
running it down the throats of the Runnin' (scared) Rebels.. The
defense in Madison has not really been tested yet, so the jury is
still out on them, but otherwise, the Badgers look solid.
WISCONSIN 38, UNLV 10
NORTHwESTERN (1-1) AT RICE (1-1)
Speaking of Northwestern, there's just one thing to say: "The
dream is over, guys." May I repeat that you got spanked by
Duke? Duke! In football. At home.
There has been one consistent positive this year for the
Wildcats, however, and that is the return of all-world receiver
D'Wayne Bates from a serious knee injury that caused him to
miss all of last year. Bates has hauled in 12 passes in two games
so far this season, a total that leads the team.
On the other side of the ball, Rice is very interesting to watch.
The Owls are one of the only teams left that plays the Wing-T,
or wishbone, offense, using three running backs, two tight ends
and usually no receivers. They beat Northwestern last year, just
barely lost to Purdue last week, 21-19, and the system is tricky
to defend.
RICE 28, NOImwESTERN 24
IOwA (1-1) AT No.16ARIZONA (2-0)
Here is a math problem that even the Ohio State defense
could answer: Iowa, minus Tavian Banks, Matt Sherman and
Tim Dwight, equals...?? The answer is: A lot of losses; and even
some humiliating ones, like last week's 27-9 loss to Iowa State.
They did manage to abuse Central Michigan, but Central
Michigan is no Central Florida, and Central Florida is no
Arizona.
For some odd reason, Iowa does seem to possess a pretty
decent passing game, with the combination of Kyle McCann
(65-percent completion rate) and Ryan Barton (168 yards
receiving) putting up some solid numbers.
The Desert Swarm defense (so that was a few years ago...)
should be able to contain them, at least enough for the solid

Arizona offense to put them away. At least Hayden Fry has
started scheduling Division I opponents.
ARmZONA 32, IOWA 10
MEMPIS (0-2) AT MINNEsoTA (2-0)
Minnesota is 2-0, but that is a little bit misleading. Their two
opponents have been the lame Houston Cougars (home of pro=
fessional busts Andre Ware and David Klingler) and Arkansas
State ( Bill Clinton's home state). Last year it was a close one;
with Minnesota taking it 20-17 in Memphis.
Minnesota does boast one of the top running backs in the Big
Ten in Thomas Hamner, while Memphis has spent its first feu,
weeks getting acquainted with the state of Mississippi, losing'tq
Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Gophers have one more
week before they have to wake up from this 3-0 dream and get
pounded by serious Big Ten opponents.
MINNESOTA 27, MEMPHIs 6
LoUIsviLLE (0-2)AT ILLINOIS (1-1)
Saving the best for last brings us to the game of the week, feat
turing the Fighting Illini and the Cardinals. Something definite-
ly has to give in this matchup, as the pathetic Illinois offense,
featuring quarterback Mark Hoekstra (39-percent completion
rate), faces a Louisville defense that has given up 68 points to
Kentucky and 45 points to Utah.
The edge goes to the Illini due to a functional running game
featuring the two-headed monster of Steve Havard and Russell
Harvey. This one will be talked about for years to come.
ILLINOIS 7, LoUIsvLuE 6
MicmGAN STATE (1-2) BYE WEEK
Without a Saturday game to focus on, the Spartans have.
decided to dedicate themselves to going to class this week.
They will not fare as well there as they did against Notre.
Dame Saturday night, as the task of reading something otherf
than a playbook always seems to give them trouble (they don't
do too well with that playbook thing either).
Look for the pressures of being normal students for one week
to get to the Spartans, and the result will be a demoralized team
come Sept. 26 (game at Michigan).
SCHOOL WEEK 1, MICHIGAN STATE 0

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